Portable electric light.



W. H. ZACHMflNN.

PORTABLE memo LIGHT.

APPLICATION HLED JAN. 19. 1917.

WWW spt '25, 191:2:

mmymo Slave Mb? lit) 'WILLIAM H. ZACHMANN, 0F WOODHAVEN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR. T0 NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY, OF LONG ISLAND CITY, NEVT YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT.

Application filed January 19, 1917. Serial No. 143,221.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, WILIJAM H. Znon- MANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Woodhaven, Long Island, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Electric Lights, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

inventionrelates to portable electric lights of the kind commonly called flashlights and relates more particularly to the flat or vest pocket type 0 these lights. Objects of my invention are inexpensiveness of manufacture, neatness and elegance of appearance, convenience of use, simplicity of construction, durability and other objects and advantages which will hereinafter appear.

My invention includes features of construction and combinations of parts as will appear from the following description.

I shall now describe the two vest pocket flashlights illustrated in the accompanying drawings as embodying my invention and shall thereafter point out my claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete flashlight with the casing open and with parts thereof omitted.

F i 2 is a central vertical section on a plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. l as iewed from the right with the casing cover only slightly open and with the lamp and battery appearing in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a plan view as seen from above in Fig. l.

Fig. i is a vertical section of the casing on a plane indicated by the line H of Fig. 1 as viewed from the left with the casing in closed condition and with the battery and other parts appearing in elevation.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the movable catch member appearing in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Fig. 6 is an elevation similar to Fig. 1 of Y a slightly modified construction.

Fig. 7 is a central vertical section on a plane indicated by the lined-710i Fig. 6 as viewed from the right, and is a view similar to Fig. 2 of the construction illustrated in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is. a View similar-to Fig. a of the construction illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7,

invention in tangular elongated flat sheet metal casing which is divided in the plane of its largest dimensions, or in a plane parallel with its fiat sides, into two similar halves 1 and 2 of which the rear part 1 may be called the battery-supporting and lamp-carrying half and the front part 2 may be called the cover half. At their adjacent lower ends the two casing halves 1 and 2 are hinged together by means of a sheet metal hinge having leaves and t and a pintle 5, the hinge leaf 3 being shown as secured by means of rivets 6 to the inside of the casing cover or front part 2, and the other hinge leaf 4 is shown as similarly secured by means of similar rivets 7 to the inside of the rear or batteryholding and lamp-carrying casing part 1.

The hinge leaf 4- of the rear casing part or casing half 1 is provided with an extene sion which is turned over outwardly in V- shape with the hinge leaf 4. so as to form at its spaced free edge a battcry-supporting ledge or shelf 8 this battery-supporting ledge 8 being thus integral with or formed in one piece with the hinge-leaf 4, by the securing rivets 7 of which it is also firmly casing part 1 so that the hinge, having the leaves 3 and 4t, and the battery support 8 at the bottom of the casing are combined.

The fiat sheet metal casing comprising these two hinged halves l and 2 contains a usual flat form of dry battery 9 which at its lower end, rests upon the battery support 8. The battery 9 is further held in proper' position within the casing by means of an upper sheet metal support or abutment ledge 10. The battery-supporting abutment ledge 10 has a base 11 by means of which it issupported upon the rear casing part 1, this base 11 being suitably secured to the inside of the casing art, for example, by soldering it thereto. I

At its end opposite to the hinge the rear or battery-holding casing part 1 is provided with or carries a metallic screw-threaded supported and held in place within the rear lamp socket 12 which may be soldered in place in a semi-circular notch in the upper end of the rear casing part 1, the front 0 sing part 2 at its upper end being provi ed with a similar semi-circular notch 12 for removably fitting around the outer-halt of the lamp socket 12- in the closed condition of the casing, as appears in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The base '11 of the battery-restraining abutment le ge 10 is shown as extending upwardly at the back of the lamp socket l2 and is there turned outwardly and provided with a circular opening through which the lamp socket passes, so that this outwardly-turned part encircles or surrounds the lower or inner part of the lamp socket 12 at the inside of the casing and forms a brace 13 for the lamp socket, to which it may be soldered, this feature of construction being readily apparent from the drawings.

At the front or outwardly from the lamp socket 12 the lamp socket brace 13 is provided with a downwardly-turned lug or projection lwhich forms a stationary catch part which is cooperative with a movable catch part carried by the cover or front casing part 2, as Will now be. described. It is to be noted that the single member forming the upper battery support 10 and the lamp socket brace 13 and also the stationary catch part 1 1 is formed from a single piece of sheet metal.v 4

The movable catch part carried by the upper end of the casing cover part 2 is shown as a slidable catchpart mounted upon and guided by the outer casing part or cover 2. The cover or outer casing part 2 is provided near the upper end thereot with a slot 15 in which non-rotatively slides the flattened stem 16 of a stud-having an outer rounded exposed head 17 providing for manual actuation of the slidable catch member or movable catch part. The movable catch stud is of reduced diameter inward from the flattened stem 16 so that the stem 16 forms a shoulder, as appears in Fig.

'5, and the reduced inner part of this stud successively receives or carries a thin guide plate 18, a spacing Washer 19 and an upwardly projecting and slightly inwardly inclined catch member 20, inward from which the reduced stem of the slidable catch stud is upset or rivced as appears at 21 in Fig. 5. The movable catch member or catch plate 20 projects upwardly toward the upper end of the casing part 2 in position to be engaged at the inner side of the downwardly projecting stationary catch part or lug 14 in the closed condition of the casing. as appears in Fig. 1. or, on the other hand. to be released from the stationary catch part l-t to permit the outer casing half or cover part 2 to be opened. as appears in Figs. 1 and 2, it being apparent that moveopposite sides, the contact strip 22 beingshown as of the usual short upright form and the other contact strip 23 being of greater length and bentover at an angle so as to extend transversely across the upper end of the battery 9, as is usual. The transversely extending contact spring 23 is in position to press upon'and form electrical connection or contact with the centralterg minal 241 of a usual miniature incandescent lamp having bulb 25 and a usual annular screw-threaded base 26, which, as'shown; is screwed into and forms electrical connection with the lamp socket 12, which latter, as hereinbefore noted, is secured to and in electrical connection with the rear casing half or easing part 1.

A circuit controller is provided for electrically connecting the short upright battery terminal 22 with the rear or battery-holding casing part 1. In the construction illustrated in the drawings a rcversely bent camshaped contact strip or contact spring 27 is secured at its lower part-by means of rivets as shown to the inside of the margin of the casing part 1 and is adapted to be operated by means of a double-headed stud or button 28 which passes through a slot in and is guided by the casing part 1.

In the slightly modified construction of flat or vest pocket flashlight illustrated in Figs. (3, 7, 8 and 9 of the accompanying drawings, the improvements of my invention are shown as applied to a somewhat larger or three-cell vest pocket flashlight, the narrower construction hereinbefore described being a two-cell light. In this modified construction the battery-supporting extension 29 from the hinge leaf 30, which is similar to the hereinbet'ore described hinge leaf 4, is provided at the top withan inturned horizontal table part 31- having a battery-s11pporting flat upper surface, as clearly appears in the drawings.

Also in this modified construction it is to be noted that the stationary catch part 32 corresponding to the hereinbefore described stationary catch part 14 is of bifurcated or 't'orkcd construction. for receiving the larger neck part 33 ot' a simple slidable stud having also an inner head 34 which engages at the inncr side of the bifurcated catch member 32 as appears in Fig. 8. catch stud also has a smaller neck part 35 which is guided in a slot 36, similar to the hcreinbet'ore described slot 15, in the front" casing part. At the outside of the casing the movable catch stud, having the larger This sl idable button 38 has an inner surface of quite some extent which is fiat and is guided by the outer surface of the front casing part, and the button 38 together with the stud carried thereby forms a slidable catch part or catch member which is manually actuatable by 7 means of the exposed button 38, which may be moved either up or down hy the thumb. in other respects than above noted the modified construction illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive is substantially the same as that hereinbefore described in reference to Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the constructions shown in the drawings and above particularly de scribed within the principle and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. An oblong flat casing for a portable electric light divided into front and rear halves along its largest dimensions, a hinge uniting the two halves at one end, a lamp socket carried by the rear half at the end thereof opposite to the hinge, a battery support in the rear casing'half adjacent to the lamp socket, and a releasable catch for the hinged halves having a stationary catch part carried by the said battery'support adjacent to the lamp socket and having a movable'catch part carried by the'frqnt casing half.

2. An oblong flat casing for a portable electric light divided into front and rear halves in the plane of its largest dimensions, a hinge uniting the two halves at one end, a lamp socket carried by'the rear half at, the end thereof opposite to the hinge, a battery support in the rear casing half formed as a part of the hinge, a second battery support in the rear casing half adjacent to the lamp socket, and a releasable catch for the hinged halves having a stationary-catch by the second battery support the lamp socket and having a part carried by the front caspart carried adjacent to movable catch ing half.

3. An oblong fiat casing for a portable electric light divided into two halves in the plane of its largest dimensions, and a hinge uniting the two halves at oneend and having a leaf of the hinge provided with a turned-out extension forming abattery support. p

4. An oblong fiat casing for a portable electric light divided into front and rear stationary catch part adjacent to t opposite the hinge,

halves in the plane of its largest dimensions,

socket, and a movable catch part carried by the front casing half and coiiperative with the stationary catch part.

5. An oblong flat casing for a portable electric light provided into front and rear parallel with the flat sides, a hinge uniting the two halves at one end and having one of its leaves secured at the insideof one of the halves and having its other leaf secured at the inside of the other halves in a plane half, a battery-supporting ledge forthe bot- H tom of the battery in the rear casing half formed by a turned-over part of 'the corresponding hinge leaf, a lamp socket carried by the rear casing half at the end thereof a member encircling the lamp socket at the inside of the rear cas ng half and forming a second or upper battery support and also forming a lamp socket and also forming a stationary catch part adjacent to a slidable catch part guided by the front casing half and cooperative with the stationary catch part at the inside of the casing and exposed for manual actuation at the outside of the casing.

6. A casing for a portable electric light, comprising front and rear casing halves hinged together, a lamp socket carried by the rear casing half, and a "member carried by the rear casing tery support and also forming a brace for brace for the half, and forming a bat-.

thelamp socket, and

art.

7. A casing for a portable electric light, Y

and a hinge comprising two casing halves,

and provided uniting the two casing halves with a battery support.

-8."A casing for a portable electric light,

'comprising two casing halves hinged together, and a combined battery support and catch member carried by one of the casing halves.

9. A casing for a portable electric light, comprising two casing parts hinged together, and a combined brace for the lamp socket and catch member carried by one of the cas- V ing parts,

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

J WILLIAM HQZACHMANN. 

